Shoe heel



Jan. 20, 1931. J. BAZZONI 1,789,297

SHOE HEEL Filed April 2, 1929 Patented Jan. 20,-1931 ATES- stir LEWIS J. BAZZONI, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE IVIACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NENV JERSEY SHOE HEEL Application filed April 2,

This invention relates to improvements in shoe heels and to improved means for protecting corner portions of the breasts of heels. The invention also relates to improvements in shoes provided with heels having protect-ed breast corners. Certain features of the invention are herein illustrated as embodied in covered heels, although the invention isuseful also in connection with uncoviio cred heels.

In covered heels the portions of the covering which overlie the breast corners of the heels are more liable to become worn or damaged than other portions of the covering and even in uncovered heels the lateral breast corners, on account of their sharpness and exposed location, are particularly susceptible to wear and injury.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved heel having protected breast corners and accordingly a feature of the invention consists in a heel having a groove formed therein and a protector for the portion of the heel adjacent to said groove 7 inserted in the groove.

In the preferred embodiments of the invention herein shown, relatively narrow grooves are formed in the breast of a heel, there being one groovenear and substantially parallel to each lateral breast edge or corner, and breast corner protectors are provided consisting of elongated metallic strips curved to correspond to the curvature of the lateral breast edges, each strip having an insert portion adapted to be received in one of the grooves and an offset portion for overlying the respective breast corner of the heel.

The offset portions of the illustrated protectors are rounded in cross-secti n so as better to withstand wear as well as to provide an ornamental beaded finish at each breast corner. As shown, each lateral breast corner protector is provided at one end with a spur whicn is adapted to embed itself in the top lift of the heel for the purpose of anchor in g the lower end of the protector within the groove in the heel. Also, as shown, the up per end of the protector is held in place by engagement with a shoulder such as that ordinarily formed in a sole at the forward end 1923. Serial No. 351,990.

of the heel seat portion in cases where the latter has been fitted to receive a wood heel.

The invention, as herein illustrated, is particularly adapted for embodiment in covered heels of the type disclosed, for example, in co-pending application Serial No. 216,760, filed August 31, 1927, in the name of \V. H. Nutt, wherein a cover extends around the rear and sides of the heel and overlaps the breast corners and has its opposite end portions tucked into grooves formed in the heel breast adjacent and substantially parallel to the lateral breast edges, and wherein a separate cover for the breast of the heel has its lateral margins received in the grooves beside the tucked-in end portions of the side cover. In heels of this type breast corner protectors constructed in accordance with the present invention are inserted in the grooves in the heel breast and are utilized to protect the portions of the heel covering which overlie the breast corners, and to provide smooth reinforced joints between the side and breast coverings at or near the breast corners. The above-described construction and arrangement of the breast corner protectors also constitutes a feature of the present invention.

The invention is not, however, necessarily limited to the provision of means for protecting the lateral breast corners of heels inasmuch a protector device inserted in a groove in the breast of 'a heel may be utilized to overlap one or both of the corners formed in the heel breast at opposite sides of the groove and to protect the joints between cover margins tucned into said groove. In such cases, the protector device may function, as illustrated, not only to reinforce and protect the corners formed by the groove and the joint between he cover margins adjacent to the groove but also to provide an ornamental finhn for the joint and to hold, or to assist in holding, the cover mar ins in place in or adj acent to the groove. As illustrated the protector devices may function to hold in place cover margins which project into the grooves beside the inserted portions of the devices, the offset portions of the devices alone may be relied upon to hold in place cover margins which are not received in the grooves but which are clamped between the surface of the heel and the offset portions of the protector devices, or both the insert and the offset portions of the protector may function in the holding in place of one or more cover margins. Invention, accordingly, is to be recognized in the provision of means secured 1n a groove in a covered heel beside a tucked-in cover margin for holding said margin in the groove and having an offset portion overlapping and holding in place a portion of the cover outside of said groove, and further more invention is also to the recognized in the provision of means secured in a groove in covered heel and overlapping a portion of the heel cover outside of the groove thereby protecting and holding in place the portion of the cover engaged thereby.

The invention further consists in features of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating certain preferred embodiments thereof, in which Fig. l is a perspective view of a portion of a shoe having a heel provided with breast corner protectors constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of the portion of the shoe shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line III--III of Fig. 1;

F ig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the protector strips shown in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a different manner of applying the protector strip to a heel;

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of a portion of a covered heel showing modified forms of protector strips;

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a heel having a one-piece cover and a groove in the center of its breast face illustrating the application to the heel of a protector strip embodying the present invention Fig. 11 is a view similar to 10 but illustrating a different manner of applying the protector strip to the heel; and

Fig. 12 is a detail cross-sectional view illustrating particularly the application of a breast corner protector to an uncovered heel.

Refer ing to the drawings, there is indicated at 14 a portion of a shoe having a sole l6 and a Cuban heel 18, the sole having its rear portion fitted in a well-known man ner to receive the heel with the rim of the seat face of the heel lying close to the shoe upper, and to provide a shoulder 20 for engaging the upper margin of the heel breast. The heel 18 is provided with a top lift 22, a

the heel to the shoe.

cover 2 (Fig. 3) for the rear and sides of heel, a cover 26 for the breast of the heel, and two relatively narrow grooves 28 in the breast into which the margins of the covers 24 and 25 are tucked. In the illustrated heel, the opposite lateral edges of the breast are curved, the construction being such that the curvature is apparent to an observer looking to ward the breast face of the heel but when the heel viewed squarely from either side the ral breast edges appear to be straight. shown, the grooves 28 are curved sidewise to correspond to the curvature of the lateral breast edges.

The grooves 28 extend heightwise of the heel from the top to the bottom thereof, the grooves being arranged one closely adjacent and substantially parallel to each lateral breast edge or corner of the heel. The heel is provided with a pair of protectors 30 for its opposite lateral breast edges or corners. The breast corner protectors 3O consist of elongated strips which are curved sidewise throughout their length to correspond to the curvature of the breast edges of the heel. The protectors are made preferably but not necessarily of metal, such as aluminum, and as shown each protector consists of an insert portion 32 adapted to be received in one of the grooves 28 between the tucked-in margins of the covers 24 and 26, and an offset portion 34 adapted to overlap and protect one of the covered breast corners of the heel. The insert portions 32 of the protectors are made-of such thickness relatively to the width of the grooves in the heel that they will fit tightly between the cover margins preferably compressing the cover margins sufficiently to offset any tendency of the protectors to become dislodged. As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, a spur 36 formed at one end of each protector, the being pointed at its free end and adapted to be embedded in the top lift 22 to anchor the lower end of the protector strip. The protectors are conveniently produced by cutting into sections of the required length a continuous strip of stock of the desired cross-sec tional shape and for purposes of economy the spur 36 of each individual protector may be cut from the portion of the strip which is to form the succeeding protector, the formation of the spurs producing cut away portions 38 (Fig. 4) in each protector at the end opposite to that having the spur.

Preferably, the protectors 30 are inserted in the grooves of a heel during the heel covering operation and before the attachment of After the heel has been attached the upper ends of the protector strips are positively held in place by means of the shoulder 20 of the sole 16. The offset portions 34 are shaped in crosssection to give abeaded or rounded-over effect to the breast corners, as well as to reinforce them against wear and protect them from injury. The

offset portion 34 of each protector 30 is made so as to be continuously tangent to a single plane. Thus, when the protector has been applied to a heel the protected breast edge will appear straight when viewing the side of the heel although the breast edge is, in fact, curved, as will be apparent when viewing the breast face of the heel. The rounded-over or beaded cross-sectional shape of the offset portions, which are the only exposed portions of the protector strips, not only imparts a neat and finished appearance to the lateral breast edges of the heel but also provides a construction in which the protectors are not unduly prominent but merge gradually into the lines of the heel breast. The exposed portions of the breast corner protectors may be colored or otherwise coated to match the finish of the heel covers, or, if desired, a pleasing ornamental effect may be obtained by using breast corner protectors having a finish or color contrasting with the finish or color of the heel cover.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention in which the grooves 28 are made only wide enough to receive a single cover margin in addition to the insert portion of a breast corner protector strip. As therein shown, the heel breast covering 26 is tucked into the groove and held therein by the protector strip while the margin of the side covering 24 is held in place solely by the offset portion of the protector, the margin of the side covering terminating at the breast face outside of the groove. As shown, the under side of the oifset portion of the protector is somewhat concave as shown at 38 thereby better adapting the protector to hold the covering 24 in place.

In Fig. 6 a further modified construction is shown wherein the groove 28 is made only wide enough to receive the insert portion of the protector strip. In this construction neither the margin of the breast covering nor the margin of the side covering is tucked into the groove but both the cover margins are held in place solely by means of a protector strip 302 of modified form having ofi'set portions 340 which project from opposite sides of the insert, one offset portion holding the margin of the breast covering while the op posite offset portion holds the margin of the side covering. Preferably, as shown, the under sides of the offset portions 340 are concave, thereby providing slightly undercut edges at their extremities capable of embedding themselves more or less in the cover material, the better to hold the cover margins in place.

It will be noted that the protector strips thus far described have all been located in such positions as to overlap and protect the breast corners of the heels. The invention, however, is not limited to such arrangements of the protectors inasmuch as they may be spaced inwardly from the breast corners, as shown, for example, in Fig. 7 in which case they will function to cover and protect the joints between the side and breast coverings, as Well as to hold the margins of these coverings in place.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate modificationsof the constructions shown in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein the grooves extend diagonally inward from the breast corners and the ofiset portions of the protectors are shapedito blend with the side and breast surfacesof heel, thus .resulting in the formation of beads which appear of equal width whether viewed from the side or from the front of the heel. In Fig. 8 the insert portion of the protector is shown as being inserted between the tucked-in margins of the breast and side covers, while in Fig. 9 the margins of the heel coverings are not tucked into the groove but are held in place between the body of the heelandthe offset portions of the protector.

Fig. 10 shows a heel of the type having a single straight groove extending along the middle of its breast and a one-piece cover for the rear, sides and breast surfaces of the heel, the opposite lateral margins of the covering being secured within the single groove and held in place by means of a straight protector strip 306 which is inserted in the groove and which has a beaded ofiset portion for overlapping the exposed portion of the cover at either side of the groove and thus protecting the corner rtions of the heel breast at the opposite si es of the groove. A similar protector strip is shown in Fig. 11 wherein the opposite lateral margins of a one-piece heel cover are held against the breast surface by the offset portion of the protector without being inserted within the groove. In the constructions shown in Figs. 10 and 11 a neat beaded joint is provided at the end of the heel breast.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the invention is not restricted to embodiment in covered heels but the breast corner protectors may be useful for the purpose of protecting the breast corners of uncovered heels, as shown in Fig. 12. Y

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

1. A heel having .a relatively deep. and narrow groove formed in its breast,. and a protector for the portion of the heeladjacent to said groove having a relatively wide and thin portion inserted edgewise in the groove.

2. A heel having a relatively deepand narrow groove adjacent and parallel to one of its lateral breast corners, and a member inserted in the groove and overlappingand protecting the breast corner.

3. A heel having a groove in its breast adjacent to one of the breast corners, and a strip-like member inserted edgewise between the side walls of the groove, said member having an ofi'set'portion overlapping and protecting said'breast corner.

4. A heel having relatively narrow grooves formed therein, one adjacent to each lateral breast corner, the grooves extending heightwise of the heel, and breast corner protectors each consisting of an insert portion adapted to be received in one of the grooves, and an offset portion constructed and arranged to protect the adjacent breast corner of the heel.

5. A covered heel comprising a heel body having a groove spaced from but adjacent to one of its breast corners, a cover extending from the breastcorner, and a member inserted in the groove and having a portion overlying the cover at the breast corner.

6. A covered heel comprising a heel body having a groove therein, a cover terminating at the groove, and means secured in the groove and overlapping a portion of the cover outside of the groove for protecting and holding in place said portion of the cover.

7. A covered heel comprising a heel body having a groove/therein, a cover having a marginal portion tucked into the groove, and a member inserted in the groove beside the tucked-in cover margin and having a portion overlapping and protecting the margin of the cover adjacent to the mouth of the groovef 8. A covered heel comprising a heel body having grooves in-the breast face adjacent to the lateral edges thereof, a breast covering having its 'lateral margins tucked into said grooves, a covering for the rear and sides of the heel having opposite end portions overlapping the lateral edges of the breast face, andmeans secured in said grooves for holding the margins of the breast covering therein, said members having portions overlapping and protecting the said end portions of the side cover.

9. A heel'having relatively narrow grooves formed therein, one'adjacent to each lateral breast corner, the grooves extending heightwise of the heel, a cover forthe rear and sides of the heel having inturned opposite end portions overlying the portions of the heel breast outside of said grooves, and breast corner protectorseach consisting'of an insert portion inserted in one ofsaid grooves, and an 'ofi'set'portion constructed and arranged to protect the adjacent inturned end portion of the cover and to hold said-cover portion in place against the heel breast.

10.'A heel having curved lateral breast edges and relativelynarrow'grooves formed in the heel'breast, there being one groove parallel and adjacent to'each lateral breast edge, a cover for the rear and sides of the heel having inturned opposite end portions overlying the portions of the heel breast outside of said grooves, a breast covering for the portion-of the heel breast between said grooves, and breast corner protectors inserted in said grooves, each protector consisting of a curved strip having a beaded edge constructed and arranged to protect and-hold inplace the inturned end portions of the side cover; 1 v

11. A heel. having relatively narro'n grooves formed therein. one adjacent to each lateral breast corner, the grooves extending heightwiseof theheel, a cover for the rear and sides of the heel having inturned opposite end portions overlying the portions of the heel breast outside of said grooves, a breast covering for the portion of the heel breast between said grooves having lateral margins tucked into the grooves, and breast corner protectors each consisting of an insert portion received in one of the grooves beside the tucked-in portion of the breast covering and an offset portion overlying and protecting the respective inturned end portions of the side cover.

12. A heel having relatively narrow grooves formed therein. one adjacent to each lateral breast corner, the grooves extending heightwise of the heel, a cover for the rear and sides of the heel having inturned opposite end portions tucked into'said grooves, a covering for the portion of the heel breast between said grooves having lateral margins tucked into the grooves, and breast corner protectors each consisting of an insert portion received in one of the grooves between the tucked-in portions of the side and breast coverings and an offset portion overlying and protecting the respective inturned end portion of the side cover.

13. A heel breast corner protector comprising a curved strip adapted to be received in a curved groove extending heightwise of a heel adjacent to a breast borner thereof, and having an offset portion for overlapping the breast corner said offset portion being continuously tangent to a single plane.

14. A heelbreast corner protector comprising a relatively narrow insert member adapted to be received in a groove extending heightwise of a heel adjacent to a breast corner thereof, and having an offset portion for overlapping the breast corner, the offset portion having an undercut cover-engaging surface constructed and arranged to facilitate the clamping of a heel cover against a heel.

15. A covered heel comprising a heel block having a groove therein, a cover having a margin tucked into the groove, and a member inserted in the groove beside the tuckedin cover margin for holding the latter in place in the groove and having a portion overlying and protecting a portion of the cover outside of the groove.

16. A heel breast corner protector comprising an elongated, relatively narrow strip adapted to be inserted in a groove extending heightwise of a heel adjacent to one of the lateral edges of the heel breast, a spur projecting from one end of said strip for entering a top lift on the heel for anchoring said strip in the groove, and an offset portion on the strip for overlapping said lateral edge of the heel breast.

17. A heel breast corner protector comprising an elongated, relatively narrow, insert portion adapted to be received in a groove extending heightwise of a heel adjacent to one of the lateral edges of the heel breast, and a beaded portion offset from the insert portion 5 for overlapping and protecting the lateral edge of the heel breast.

18. A shoe comprising a heel having a groove extending heightwise of the heel adjacent to each lateral edge of the heel breast,

a sole to which the heel is secured, the sole having a shoulder arranged to engage the upper margin of the heel breast, and protectors for the lateral edges of the heel breast each consisting of an elongated strip inserted 2 in the respective groove in the heel, each strip having its upper portion engaged with and held in place by said shoulder in the sole, and means for anchoring the lower end of the strip in the groove.

39 19. A shoe comprising a heel provided with a to lift and having a groove extending heig twise of the heel adjacent to each lateral edge of the heel breast, a sole to which the heel is secured, the sole having a shoulder arranged to engage the upper margin of the heel breast, a protector for each lateral edge of the heel breast consisting of an elongated member inserted in the respective groove in the heel and having its upper portion engaged with and held in place by said shoulder in the sole, and a spur formed on the lower portion of each rotector member and embedded in the top lii In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

LEWIS J. BAZZONI. 

